Psychology Internship

A psychology internship is a situation in which
you, as an advanced student in Psychology, gain supervised practical experience
directly related to previous classroom instruction. In the past, students have
completed psychology internships in settings such as mental health centers,
schools, prisons, and businesses. Our graduates often comment that their
internship was their most useful and most enjoyable college experience!

The exact nature of the internship will vary
depending upon the internship site and the types of learning objectives you
wish to pursue. A faculty member will provide you with a syllabus outlining
academic requirements that will encourage integration of prior classroom
learning with current practical experiences.

Basic Requirements

In order to participate in the internship
program, you must have completed 60 credits toward graduation at the time your
internship begins, including 15 credits in Psychology. You must have a 2.0
grade point average or better, overall and in Psychology. Only grades earned at
Shippensburg University count. You also must complete an internship application
that will need to be approved by 1) the professor teaching the internship
class, 2) the psychology internship committee, and 3) the Dean of the College
of Arts & Sciences.

If your internship involves one-to-one confidential
and personal interaction with clients, you must take PSY 384 (Person to Person
Interaction) prior to your internship. Likewise, if it involves group
interaction, you must take PSY 361 (Group Interaction) prior to your
internship. If your internship will involve interaction with children, you must
have taken a child psychology or child development course prior to your
internship. Comparable training may qualify. Please discuss your preparation
with your agency, faculty internship coordinator, or the department internship
coordinator. Approval of your internship application will depend, in part, on
your academic preparation for the particular internship you are proposing.

Finding an Internship Position

We can help you find an internship position.
Make an appointment with your advisor or the internship coordinator (currently
Dr. Weikel) as they can help you find an internship that fits your educational
and career goals and for which you are academically prepared.

After getting information about internship sites,
you should call the agency (or agencies) to discuss your interests and theirs. You
will probably need to schedule an interview with the agency.. The agency must
be willing to provide adequate supervision of constructive work -- that is, we
expect that you will be doing meaningful things rather than busy-work. Also,
the agency must be willing to complete mid-term and final intern evaluation
forms which are sent to your internship professor. In addition, a
representative for the internship site must sign the Letter of Agreement for
Internships, found in the application packet.

The Application Forms

Applications are available from the Psychology Department internship coordinator and the secretary, or can be downloaded here:

Internship (You will need the Acrobat plug-in to read this form. It can be downloaded here.)

Application deadlines are:

Spring Internships - November 20

Summer and Fall Internships - May 1

The application includes a
Letter of Agreement page. On that page there are lines for signatures. You will
need to sign on the student line and you will also need to get the signature of
the internship professor and a signature from a representative at the
internship site. After getting the signatures of the internship professor and
the internship site representative and completing the rest of the application,
give the application to the department internship coordinator. The coordinator will
have the Psychology Department Internship Committee review your application. If
your application is approved by that committee, the coordinator will forward
your application to the College of Arts & Sciences for final approval. If
your application is approved by the College of Arts & Sciences you will be
registered for the internship class.

Registration

After your internship application is approved by the department internship coordinator and the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences - the department will take care of forwarding your application to the Dean's office - the department secretary will schedule you for the appropriate number of internship credits. You do not need to schedule the internship yourself. Check you schedule on the MySHIP Portal about four weeks after the application deadline to make sure your internship has been registered correctly.

Academic Requirements

You will be expected to complete 120 “work”
hours for a 3-credit internship. In addition, you will also need to complete
further requirements that will involve your integration of the internship
experience with prior classroom knowledge. At a minimum, you will need to keep a
log of your experiences each day and write a paper at the end of the
internship. Your internship professor will give you a syllabus outlining the
requirements and the basis for assigning an internship grade.

Your Review of Your Internship

At the end of the internship experience, you are expected to complete the Student Internship Evaluation Form (included in the application packet). Please give it to the department internship coordinator or the secretary. It will be kept on file and may wind up in our internship booklet for other students to read.

Some Points of Ethics

Any complication with the program is to be promptly and completely discussed with your internship advisor or the department internship coordinator.

Be sure you have agency approval before getting involved in new areas of activity on-the-job. Know the extent and limits of your responsibility and be conscientious in their fulfillment.

You must safeguard all personal and confidential material concerning clients, patients, or workers, and use it only for professional purposes. Do not carry confidential information outside the agency. Make sure to use fictitious names in your academic paper where confidentiality would be compromised!

This is a step towards a professional career. Please behave like a professional!